Jeff Cooper off RealMoney

Just got an email from the RM site about changes for 2003. I have to hand it to these guys, they could foul up a one car parade. Who has been pretty much the only columnist on RM to make you any moeny this past year? I'd say Jeff Cooper. He called the fall rally right on the money, then got cautious when it stalled. I regard most of the other guys on the site as background noise, but Cooper was the real deal, despite some of the wacko analysis he used. I know a lot of you also like Herb Greenberg. I'm not a Herb fan, his so-called "research" is taking phone calls from shorts eager to talk their positions, but he has had his moments. So for 2003, RM is switching both them to RM Pro. Thanks a lot for supporting our site during these difficult times, now please bend over. Honestly, I can't think of much reason to continue with RM. Or TradingMarkets for that matter. What a New Years gift for Todd Harrison.

Who has been pretty much the only columnist on RM to make you any moeny this past year? I'd say Jeff Cooper. He called the fall rally right on the money, then got cautious when it stalled. I regard most of the other guys on the site as background noise, but Cooper was the real deal, despite some of the wacko analysis he used.

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Cooper didn't get it 'right on the money'. What happened is he stuck his neck out and called a Fall rally. The DJI was trading at 8200 or so when he made his call. It promptly went to 7200 which was the absolute low that has held so far.

In his 9/30 column he cautioned that the Crouching Tiger pattern he had been talking about had not triggered.

From his 10/7 column, which was within 2% of the SPX low which occurred on 10/10:

"Let me be perfectly clear. Yes, I expect the test of the July low to lead to a solid fourth-quarter rally. Yes, I expect that we are close.

Will the rally last for more than six to seven weeks? I don't know. We'll see how it looks when we get there. Will it be the bottom of the bear? I do not know. We will see what it looks like as time goes on. The important thing to remember is that a test of the low can take the form of a double bottom, a lower low, or a higher low. "

In his 10/10 column, the day of the exact low and reversal higher, he mentioned several times that he felt the test of the lows would be successful and a rally would ensue, and concluded his column by stating :"Do I expect a new roaring bull market? No. But, our job as traders is to capture good rallies, and that is what I believe is forthcoming. "

From 10/11 :"As always, follow-through is key, but a weekly turn up from here that sticks should confirm that the rally phase is on. "

And from his next column on 10/14, entitled "Breakaway Upside Gap":

"Is this the bottom of the bear market or just a good bottom? According to Britney and J. Lo, it doesn't really matter. We have to make money in the present. Even a cyclical bull market within a secular bear downturn, can extend for a year or more.

So, before you go piling into shorts on pullback from low setups suggested by some trend-following morons, just remember that putting out shorts on retracements after washouts and climaxes is many times a recipe for disaster. As those traders who were tempted to fade Friday's thrust learned, once the hook is in, they seldom let you off the hook. Once the sword is drawn, it is seldom replaced in the sheath until it has drawn blood. "

I could go on, but in my book he nailed the bottom, plus gave you good advice to avoid getting destroyed with shorts.